Paul Henare 's 'Baby' Tall Blacks are now officially battle hardened for the looming Asia Cup in Lebanon. The New Zealand men's basketballers wrapped up their buildup for Lebanon with a battling 60-53 defeat at the hands of dual tournament winners Angola in Chengdu, China. They pushed the full-strength African nation all the way, though weren't able to repeat their upset victory from the previous tournament in Kunshan. With the team travelling less than 24 hours later to Beirut and playin... [read more]

Paul Henare 's 'Baby' Tall Blacks are now officially battle hardened for the looming Asia Cup in Lebanon. The New Zealand men's basketballers wrapped up their buildup for Lebanon with a battling 60-53 defeat at the hands of dual tournament winners Angola in Chengdu, China. They pushed the full-strength African nation all the way, though weren't able to repeat their upset victory from the previous tournament in Kunshan. With the team travelling less than 24 hours later to Beirut and playing their sixth game in seven days in China, a drop in intensity from the young Tall Blacks would have been understandable. But they hustled hard the entire night, won the final quarter 18-14 and got as close as a couple of buckets to the Angolans. Henare, who has given all his senior players and most of his US-based collegians the campaign off, was happy with the last fortnight from his young team of largely untried international players as he looks to build depth in the national programme. "I am really proud of the effort the guys have put in over the past few weeks," Henare said. "It has culminated in a good performance tonight - not a perfect performance, but the Angolan side has been the class of the two tournaments and no one has gotten close to them. "We are the only team to have beaten them and again tonight we competed with a very good team. That is what we must take into Beirut, knowing we can compete against very good sides." Canterbury shooting guard Ethan Rusbatch (196-G/F-92, college: Lincoln Trail CC) led the Tall Blacks with a game-high 16 points (6/13 FG, 4/8 3PT), backed up by some excellent defence and four rebounds in a performance that might help garner some ANBL interest for the free-agent sharpshooter. New Zealand started slowly and were still looking for their first bucket midway through the opening quarter, but kept Angola within reach, at 14-15 down by the first break. The offence continued to splutter thoughout, with a final shooting percentage of 38 from two-point range and 24 from deep reflecting the team's shooting struggles. With Angola edging out to an 11-point lead at three-quarter time, the Tall Blacks' response came, with a Rusbatch corner three and an Ili drive to the basket establishing some momentum. But the experienced Angolans responded to keep the New Zealanders at arm's length down the stretch. Henare is confident the games in China have toughened his young charges for what they will face in Beirut, starting with Kazakhstan in three days' time. "In Beirut we are going to have a day off in between games, and it is going to feel like a holiday for these guys," said Henare. "That is one of the great things about this schedule - six games in seven days with a decent travel day in between. They will be as game ready and game hardened as they can be in Beirut. "This will be another useful experience for these guys. They will be playing against high-quality basketballers. I know for a fact they will walk away from this experience in China all the better for it." New Zealand travel to Beirut on Saturday, arriving on Sunday afternoon to put the finishing touches on preparations ahead of their opening pool game against Kazakhstan on Tuesday.Courtesy of: stuff.co.nz

The Angolan national senior men's basketball team are playing this Thursday Lithuania in the second round of the international tournament, taking place in China, Radio 5 reported. The Angolan squad, managed by Manuel Silva, defeated on Wednesday the host nation (China) by 78-70, when at halftime they were already winning the game by 39-30. For the same round, Lithuania beat New Zealand by 67-62. This is the second four-nation tournament that is taking place in China in less than a week, i... [read more]

The Angolan national senior men's basketball team are playing this Thursday Lithuania in the second round of the international tournament, taking place in China, Radio 5 reported. The Angolan squad, managed by Manuel Silva, defeated on Wednesday the host nation (China) by 78-70, when at halftime they were already winning the game by 39-30. For the same round, Lithuania beat New Zealand by 67-62. This is the second four-nation tournament that is taking place in China in less than a week, involving the same players. Angola is preparing for their participation in the African Cup of Nations (Afrobasket2017), which will take place from 8 to 16 September in Senegal and Tunisia. Angola is integrated in Group B, together with Uganda, Morocco and the Central African Republic (CAR).Courtesy of: angop.ao

Sampaense Basket (Proliga) signed 31-year old Angolan guard Edson Ferreira (183-86). He played last season at Ipswich Tomcats in British NBL D2. He helped them to make it to the semifinals. Ferreira's team made it to the Angolan Cup final in 2013. He has played on three different continents (Europe, Africa and of course North America). Ferreira has played previously professionally in Portugal (Benfica, Ginasio, Lusitania and Electrico FC) and Angola (Interclube and Libolo). By Eurobasket... [read more]

Sampaense Basket (Proliga) signed 31-year old Angolan guard Edson Ferreira (183-86). He played last season at Ipswich Tomcats in British NBL D2. He helped them to make it to the semifinals. Ferreira's team made it to the Angolan Cup final in 2013. He has played on three different continents (Europe, Africa and of course North America). Ferreira has played previously professionally in Portugal (Benfica, Ginasio, Lusitania and Electrico FC) and Angola (Interclube and Libolo).

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